Carter went up to Eric's cabin and saw Scarlett already there, her eyebrows pulled together. Carter's expression soon matched her's as the shouting only grew louder on the other side of the door. He raised his eyebrows in question, but Scarlett only shrugged in response, conveying that she was just as clueless as him.

From the voices, they could easily make out that it was Eric and Anthony who were fighting, but about what? They never fight, Carter thought with a frown. He wondered what it could be about. He could hear what they were saying, but without any context, it was useless.

"You know the truth will be out someday! So just do it already!" Anthony shouted.

"No."

"Confess!"

"No! Do you know what that means for me? Everything I've worked so hard for... It will all be gone," Eric said, his voice lowering with each word.

"You have to, one day." Came the reply.

"Do you think we should intervene?" Scarlett asked Carter when the shouting died down abruptly.

"Yes, I think they have calmed down."

Scarlett opened the door, not ready for the sight that greeted her. 

Anthony had pinned Eric against the window, his hands fisting the collar of Eric's jacket. Both of them were glaring at each other silently, but the sound of the door opening seemed to have snapped them out of their trance as they both composed themselves.

"Is...everything okay?" Scarlett asked them, her eyes darting from Eric to Anthony and then back again.

"We were just having a mild argument," Anthony said.

"Mild? Try again, buddy." Carter replied.

"I lost something, I panicked and then acted out. That's it." Eric said. "I have to look for it, so please leave." He looked at Anthony and said, "Everyone."

"We can help yo-"

"Leave." Eric cut off Scarlett mid-sentence.

A few moments later, Eric was alone, sitting on his bed. He looked around the small cabin. His hand carry was practically empty, all of his belongings were scattered around as a result of him frantically searching for his medicines.

Eric had woken up half an hour ago when his alarm went off. It was time to take his medicine. But when he reached into his bag, he couldn't find it. Growing anxious as each minute passed with no sign of them, he texted Anthony. He was the only one who knew Eric was on meds as well as the nature of them.

Turns out calling out to him was a big mistake as their conversation only turned tense before breaking out in an extremely heated argument. Their arguments had only increased ever since that unfateful day, but none of them had ever been this bad. Eric felt like he was losing his best friend slowly, but he also knew that he was just looking out for him.

Eric leaned back against the wall and ran a hand across his face. He was so tired, and not just physically. But this was no time to think about these things. He was on a trip, for heaven's sake! The main reason he was here was to restore his friendship with others. He was aware of how distant he had gotten, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't even help himself.

Eric felt bad for behaving rudely to Scarlett, she only wanted to help. But how could he let her? Helping him meant she would eventually find out what the medicine was for. That meant questions, loads of them. 

Questions he wasn't ready to answer. Not yet, anyway.

Banishing all dark thoughts from his mind, he convinced himself that he didn't need his medicine. After all, it was just a matter of 10 days, what could go wrong?

But deep down Eric knew how mistaken he was.

"Do you have any idea what that was about?" Carter asked Scarlett as they left Eric's cabin. Anthony had already stormed into his cabin.

"No... It's so strange though, they rarely ever fight," Scarlett said, deep into her thoughts. "I wonder what caused Eric to be riled up like that."

"Hopefully this trip is going to make everything better," Carter replied as he kept an assuring hand on Scarlett's shoulder.

Better or worse?

What's up with Eric?

Scarlett nodded at him with a smile. They both turned the opposite direction into their respective cabins.

***

"You look well-rested Emma," Anthony commented as they made their way out of the train station.

"Yeah, it felt like I was in a coma, the sleep was that good!" Emma said as she stretched out her limbs. "Please hold this for me, I don't have any energy in my arms"

Anthony made a face as Emma dumped a very pink, and a very heavy bag into his arms, but kept quiet as he took her appearance in. She looked awake alright but she also looked disheveled. And anybody who knew Emma knew that she never looked like this.

I don't think she has seen the mirror yet, Anthony thought with a smirk. "Hey guys, let's take a selfie!" He said to the group as he took out his phone.

"At the train station?" Carter asked.

"Yes, please."

As soon as he opened the camera and adjusted the angle so they could all fit in, Emma let out a shriek. Other people at the train station turned to look at her.

"Oh, no, no, no!" Emma said as she furiously tried to tame her blonde hair. "What in the hell is that?!" She said, pointing to her face. "Come on Scarlett, we need a trip to the bathroom."

As she dragged Scarlett away from the group, she could hear the boys laughing, especially Anthony. They returned minutes later, looking much better and put together. As they joined the rest of the group, Emma couldn't help but notice the tension between the boys.

"Is everything okay? Did something happen while we were away?" Emma asked them.

Her friends shared a very uncomfortable look with each other and hesitated before Scarlett finally told her that Eric and Anthony had a fight.

"It wasn't a fight, just a disagreement. Right, Eric?" Anthony asked him with a pointed look.

"Yes," Eric replied, but his eyes betrayed his words. His expressions would seem fine to anyone else, but he couldn't fool his childhood friend. He knew Emma would see right through. And he also knew the exact moment she noticed he was lying, however, she didn't say anything. Eric knew the pestering would come privately. 

How did I not notice the tension? Now that Emma thought about it, she recalled that Scarlett and Carter glancing at the other two uncomfortably, Eric not talking to anyone. If anything, he looked really disturbed. She looked at him properly, clearly noticing the anger simmering just under the surface. She would get to the bottom of this soon enough.

"If everyone is done being uncomfortable, let's get moving please!" Emma said as she started to walk, dragging her luggage with her, not waiting for anybody or turning back to check if they followed her or not. It was completely dark outside.

As the group finally left the train station, they fell silent again, but for a different reason this time. They were in Murren, a mountain village at the base of Schilthorn from where they would be taking a cable car to the mountain's peak.

The Swiss mountain village looked like it was plucked straight from a book. It was so breathtaking that it felt unreal standing there, admiring its beauty. Everything was covered in snow, the houses, pubs, cars, roads, everything. The moonlight hit all the right angles making the snow looked like diamond dust. Christmas trees and lights gave the whole village a fairytale look.

Scarlett couldn't believe she was standing there, couldn't believe that her plan had worked! They were all here, spending Christmas together.

"It's so beautiful!" Carter exclaimed as he pulled the zipper of his coat up, finally noticing the freezing temperature. The others agreed whole-heartedly.

"Unfortunately, we have to go, the last cable car leaves in a few minutes," Anthony said sadly. "We'll be here for 10 days, plenty of time to explore!"

"Hmm yeah, also I'm really craving a shower, a hot meal, and a bed right now," Scarlett said.

Eric was standing at the back of the group, hidden from his friend's eyes. He was the only one who was silently taking in his surroundings. Although his eyes were trained on the mountains, his mind was in another place.

Emma discreetly turned to look at him and noticed his hands. They were balled up into fists on his sides, his knuckles white because of the pressure. Emma frowned, and then noticed something else, something far more confusing. 

Eric was shivering, which was normal considering they were in a sub-zero environment. Except that he made no move to wear the coat that was hanging on his arm. He was just standing there, idle. That made her wonder.

Is he shivering because of the cold, or something else?

***

Hey guys! Sorry for the short chapter but I felt it had to end like this. What did you think of it? please don't be a silent reader and vote and comment if you like it. It really makes my day!